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Amanda Riley
Director of Development at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Professional Background
Amanda Riley is a strategic and innovative leader in the non-profit sector, dedicated to partnering with philanthropists to create impactful change through art and culture. With over 20 years of extensive experience within various museums and cultural institutions, Amanda has honed her skills as an expert in fundraising, donor relations, and development, resulting in high-impact initiatives that foster community engagement and organizational growth.
Currently, Amanda serves as the Director of Development at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where she leads the efforts to secure vital funding and build lasting relationships with donors. This role allows her to leverage her passion for art and her extensive experience in the non-profit space to cultivate an appreciation for the arts and ensure that these cultural institutions continue to thrive.
Prior to joining the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Amanda held prominent positions within several esteemed organizations, including the Asian Art Museum, where she served as the Director of Individual and Major Giving. Her work in this role led to significantly enhanced fundraising outcomes, enabling the museum to offer diverse programming and maintain its status as a leading institution in the art community.
Throughout her career, Amanda has successfully secured 8-figure gifts and achieved remarkable growth in organizations’ philanthropic capacities. Her proven track record is a testament to her ability to create high-performing teams and implement strategic initiatives tailored to the unique needs of each institution.
Education and Achievements
Amanda Riley is well-equipped with an impressive educational background that complements her extensive professional experience. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from the University of Virginia. This foundational knowledge in art history sparked her passion for the arts and laid the groundwork for her future endeavors in the museum sector.
To deepen her expertise and enhance her leadership capabilities in the non-profit field, Amanda pursued an MBA with a focus on Non-profit Management from Boston University, where she gained insights into the intricacies of running successful non-profit organizations. Additionally, she completed a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies at Boston University, further solidifying her commitment to museum leadership and management.
Notable Achievements
Beyond her current role, Amanda’s journey through various prestigious positions has equipped her with a unique set of skills that contribute to her success in the non-profit sector. Her previous roles include:
- Director of Individual Giving at the International Center of Photography: Here, Amanda focused on building relationships with major donors, significantly increasing individual giving for the center's impactful programs.
- Director of Corporate Giving at the Museum of the City of New York: In this position, she cultivated partnerships with corporate sponsors, designing programs that enriched the museum's annual giving program.
- Director of Donor Relations, Capital Campaign at the Boston Children's Museum: Amanda played a crucial role in a capital campaign that raised funds for essential expansions and renovations, ensuring that the museum could better serve its community.
In addition to her significant work in development roles, Amanda has also contributed as a Development Consultant for the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum during her time in business school, as well as a Grant Writer for the Nichols House Museum. These positions allowed her to apply her skills in a flexible environment and gain insights that further sharpened her abilities in securing funding.
Moreover, her early experiences as a Membership Manager at the National Building Museum and as an Office Manager at Chenault Harvey Architects helped Amanda cultivate a strong foundational understanding of the operations side of non-profit work, contributing to her overall effectiveness as a leader today.
Conclusion
With a rich history of impactful work, a commitment to the arts, and an impressive educational background, Amanda Riley stands as a formidable figure in the non-profit sector. Her ability to build relationships with philanthropists, secure substantial funding, and develop high-performing teams showcases her leadership prowess and passion for creating meaningful change in the arts community. Amanda continues to inspire, not only through her accomplishments but also by her unwavering dedication to promoting arts and culture across various platforms, making her a key player in the development landscape of non-profit organizations.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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